I know that if you ask at a Toyota dealer, they will say towing is not recommended. I suspect that they don't want anything interfering with the fuel economy reputation.

So has anyone found a hitch or had one installed? Usually the 1.25" receiver hitch which many bicycle racks fit into would work fine for towing a small low profile utility trailer with total gross weight of under 700 lb or so (basically less weight that a car full of people).

Just a random poll of owners..what is the best generation Prius you think, for someone wanting to buy a used one and of course with $ cost issues in mind for cars that are probably out of warranty? have the generations gotten better...or maybe worse?

We bought a certified pre owned 2010 Prius II with 43K mileage at a Toyota dealer. At the recommendation of the dealer, we added a VSA (vehicle service agreement) for $2,000 dollars. The VSA extends the warranty to 8 years or 125K miles (starting from the original date it was sold as new which was 2010). It provides mechanical breakdown protection and pays for cost of parts and labor for covered repairs, it does not cover wear and tear maintenance like brake pads or oil changes.

The car already comes with a limited powertrain warranty for 7 years or 100K miles with $50 deductible per visit, and factory HV battery warranty for 8 years or 100K miles (both warranties starting from the original date it was sold as new which was 2010). We drive about 7K miles per year.

I wonder if it was a good idea to buy the VSA and I am considering cancelling it, so I wanted to get an idea from other Prius owners of what your experience has been regarding your maintenance/repair costs for the first 8 years / 125K miles? Would you recommend keeping the VSA or cancelling it?

I don't own one, but have read with interest about them for a while now. Given your anticipated number of annual miles, the VSA might be overkill. I guess it sorta depends on the car's start in life with the first owner too, doesn't it?

$2000 for a piece of mind. If you got a good deal on the car and plan on keeping it for a long time, could be well worth it. I had a 1996 corolla with 60,000 miles on it and the A/C compressor went out. A new one was $600. So if a you look at it, insurance is for unforeseen problems. As a plus, if you sell your Prius, by law the company has to prorate the VSA and you get money back. So don't worry about it. Just keep it a secret to your friends because most people I know will always tell you that it is not needed.

I spent $2000 on an extended service plan on a used Gen II I bought 3 years ago that had 40k miles. Now it has 100k miles and I haven't used it. The only reason I bought it was because I get my money back if after 4 years I don't use it, so next summer I anticipate getting my $2,000 returned.

Over 8 years ago I started this blog. I own an '04 Prius with a total 168,000 plus miles and am still amazed what an amazing car it is. It is still delivering 45-48 mpg's and is still a reliable and dependable car. 3rd set of tires and "both" original batteries. No extended warrantee and so much savings along the way. I will buy another one next year. For Sure!

I have 2010 Toyota Prius which has 53,000 miles on it. I regularly use it as a taxi cab. people love the roominess of the inside as they where not expect acting it to be so roomy. I bought this Prius at 39,500 in December 2012. This is my first Prius and I love every minute I'm inside the car. I have driven it from Massachusetts to Walt Disney world and only had to stop twice to fill the tank. The only thing I needed to replace so far was a cv joint for the back right wheel but only paid $100 dollars because I have an extended warranty. The winter is cold in Massachusetts and the heater does not kick in till I'm almost frozen to death. When driving it on slippery roads it does not have enough power to get up hills. More horsepower would be appreciated or better traction control. Also their is numerous of times when I slipped and the traction control kicked in by stopping the front two wheels. It felt like the front axle was going to fall out of the car. When I back up I can not see that well and have hit things numerous of times should invest in backup camera. Also I do not know why but people think that they can tailgate my car which creates near collisions to the back bumper and front bumper. Since owning this car I have hit somebody with my front bumper and have gotten hit twice on my back bumper. One time with a used uh auld truck. I will admit it does have one sturdy piece of car more damage was done to their car and truck then mine.

I was hoping the next generation Prius would have come out by this time. It looks like I will have to wait another year. So I'm still stuck with my '04 Prius which I got around this time 11 years ago. The car has recently done over 360,000 miles. One interesting note on Toyota cars, the digital odometer stops at 299,999 and wont go further after that. This is a programing issue. I wish Toyota could have made it stop at 500k miles. My field work job requires me to submit a daily mileage report and I rely on the odometer reading for this. I've been using the Trip A odometer ever since then/ It cycles back to zero after 9,999 miles. My Prius may be on its way to the 400k miles mark before I finally get that replacement.

I was hoping the next generation Prius would have come out by this time. It looks like I will have to wait another year. So I'm still stuck with my '04 Prius which I got around this time 11 years ago. The car has recently done over 360,000 miles. One interesting note on Toyota cars, the digital odometer stops at 299,999 and wont go further after that. This is a programing issue. I wish Toyota could have made it stop at 500k miles. My field work job requires me to submit a daily mileage report and I rely on the odometer reading for this. I've been using the Trip A odometer ever since then/ It cycles back to zero after 9,999 miles. My Prius may be on its way to the 400k miles mark before I finally get that replacement.

A car owner after my own heart! Take care of your ride and it can take car of you for a looooong time. We've averaged about 225,000 miles per car since 1979

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Lots of good incentives on Prii right now (cheap gas is killing sales) and I'm still interested. Like @little_pogi, I'm more interested in the next generation though. Be nice if Toyota would do away with their mandatory arbitration clause though. That could be a deal killer.